By Erika Brock
TheStatehousefile.com

INDIANAPOLIS – Members of the House Public Policy Committee are considering a bill that will allow students, faculty and community members to bring firearms on to school property in locked vehicles.

Reps. Terri Austin, D-Anderson, Sean Eberhart, R-Shelbyville, in discussion during debate about legislation to allow guns on school grounds if they’re kept in locked cars. Photo by Zach Schmitt, TheStatehouseFile.com

The bill is put in place “to clarify existing language regarding our (Hoosiers) natural right to self-defense,” said Rep. Jim Lucas, R-Seymour, author of House Bill 1048.

Lucas said HB 1048 allows people to bring firearms on to school property or property that is being used for a school function, without receiving criminal charges. The bill will also redefine school property as the building itself instead of the building and property surrounding the school.

HB 1048 would allow individuals to leave firearms concealed in a lock vehicle in school parking lots.

Current law makes bringing a firearm on school property a felony. HB 1048 would lower the charge from a felony to a misdemeanor. But not everyone thinks that’s a good idea.

“I am uncomfortable with the fact that the bill changed the law for when someone walks into a school from a felony to a misdemeanor,” said Chairman Rep. Tom Dermody, R-LaPorte.

He proposed an amendment to maintain the felony law, something Lucas said he would agree to but doesn’t support.

One concern among lawmakers is the bill would let students who are 18 years old have firearms in their locked vehicles as long as they have a license.

“I want to have everybody who is recognized under the state of Indiana as legal to carry a firearm, I want them to be able to safely lock their firearm in a vehicle on school property without being subject to a felony,” said Lucas

Lucas also said he wants the bill to de-criminalize roaming school zones. Roaming school zones will be in placed starting July 1, according to current law. Dermody and Lucas both used a school field trip as an example.

A group of students at zoo would become a roaming school zone, which would then make it illegal to carry a gun in the area, Dermody said. Lucas said that needs to change.

“Our right to self-defense is very important to me,” Lucas said.

The committee postponed a vote on HB 1048 to consider amendments.

Erika Brock is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.

With the beginning of the legislative session come big changes, specifically through the announcement of the 2014 House Republican legislative agenda. The agenda, titled “Indiana: Working on Progress,” includes legislation centered around five key points: preparing kids for their careers, connecting crossroads to communities, equipping our workforce, cutting taxes and stopping burdensome regulations. All of these initiatives will continue to address key issues facing the Hoosier state. I would like to highlight some of these initiatives.

After graduation, students are expecting to enter the workforce. However, they cannot enter the workforce if they do not have the necessary skills to be successful. To address the skills gap, our agenda sets a course for schools and businesses to increase their collaboration and work together through select educational partnerships, which in turn, will also increase the potential earnings of Hoosier workers. About two-thirds of manufacturers in Indiana report a shortage of available, qualified workers. We need to provide the tools for Hoosiers to fill and be successful in these high demand, high wage jobs.

Connecting Crossroads to Communities is another effort to build upon Indiana’s renowned transportation infrastructure. Indiana cannot be known as the “Crossroads of America” without maintaining a good transportation system. More money will be used to address current roads and bridges needs to offset future maintenance expenses. In industries such as tourism, retail sales and agriculture, 1.7 million jobs are dependent on the state’s transportation system and, over $500 billion in goods traveled on Indiana roadways last year alone. Increasing our investment in roads would directly provide jobs through their design, construction and maintenance and would also allow us to realize further economic opportunities.

While many issues will be addressed, we as a legislative body will be looking to trim the size of government and the laws that are on the books. Unnecessary and outdated laws and regulations make government functions inefficient and consumer navigation more difficult. The private sector is always striving to be more efficient, and the public sector can certainly follow that lead – not to mention Washington D.C. Moving forward, we must continue to allow the free market to function, and look for ways to trim the government.

I am eager to address these and other issues this session and believe constructive solutions are to come. As we continue to move Indiana forward while still concentrating on the issues we currently have I keep in mind the overall goal, to make our State the finest state in our country to work, live and raise a family. I hope you are having a nice and warm start to 2014.

By John Sittler
TheStatehouseFile.com

INDIANAPOLIS – House Speaker Brian Bosma said he’s “exploring all kinds of” options for moving a constitutional marriage amendment out of committee and onto the House floor.

The amendment – which defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman – is currently stalled in the House Judiciary Committee where several of its 13 members haven’t said publicly how they’ll vote on the measure.

The committee took testimony on the amendment Monday but no vote is scheduled.

Bosma acknowledged he’s thought about replacing committee members or he could move the amendment to a different committee.

“I’m exploring all kinds of things,” he said. “I’m going to listen to our caucus.”

Indiana legislative rules give the speaker power to adjust committee members as he sees fit.

Bosma has previously replaced committee members between legislative sessions but never in the middle of one.

“You couldn’t change the numbers (of Republicans and Democrats) but the members serve at the pleasure of the speaker,” he said.

Bosma’s comments came shortly after Republican leaders saw the results of an internal poll on the issue. Bosma said the poll – conducted by Chesapeake Beach Consulting – found 80 percent of voters want the opportunity to cast a ballot on the question.

The group surveyed 800 people and the poll results have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

Bosma said the poll reinforced his support of both House Joint Resolution 3 and accompanying House Bill 1153, which describes legislative intent.

“The biggest take away for me was that 80 percent of Hoosiers want a vote on the issue. That means people on both sides of the issue would like to have the opportunity to speak on it,” he said.

The poll also found that 54 percent of Hoosiers want to take out the controversial second sentence of HJR 3 which bans any legal arrangement that is “identical or substantially similar” to marriage.

But 54 percent of people also said in the poll they would vote in favor of the amendment with the second sentence still in it.

Bosma said removing the sentence is not currently “Plan A.”

John Sittler is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.